Four Legged Food Drive Set To Launch

By Sandy Miller

Pet owners are struggling out there. They’re losing their jobs, their 401ks, and sometimes their homes. For many of them, just keeping a roof over their heads and putting food on the kitchen table is a daily struggle.

As a result, some pet owners are relinquishing the four-legged members of their families to shelters because they can no longer afford to feed them. It breaks their hearts, but they just don’t see any other way out. Meanwhile, not-so-responsible pet owners are just abandoning their pets, and shelters and rescues are struggling to keep up with the growing numbers of pets coming through their doors.

“Every community has a problem of homeless pets,” says Ellen Gilmore, campaign specialist for Best Friends’ First Home Forever Home campaign. “The economy has really done a lot of damage. Some people are going hungry to feed their animals. We’re hearing from groups across the country that the relinquish rate has increased in recent years.”

Best Friends’ First Home Forever Home campaign doesn’t think anyone—human or animal—should go hungry. And that’s why First Home Forever Home, one of four Best Friends’ campaigns aimed at reaching the goal of No More Homeless Pets, is launching its summer Four-Legged Food Drive in early July.

It’s very much a grassroots effort, with Best Friends Team No More Homeless Pets volunteers ready to launch in almost a dozen cities across the nation. No More Homeless Pets teams are already at work in cities in Florida, Nevada, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Washington.

“There’s a great need out there which is why this project was born,” Gilmore says. “There are a lot of people out there who are struggling financially and a way to help them is to help them feed their pets. We want to support the food pantry work that’s already happening in communities.”

These volunteers know their own communities better than anyone, and they’re stepping up to the plate to collect pet food for local food banks to distribute to families in need.

“The volunteers are just amazing,” Gilmore says. “They’re bringing to the project a great deal of energy and logistics that would not be possible without them.”

Sherry Johnson of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is one of those volunteers. Johnson, with the help of other volunteers that include members of the local high school football team, will be collecting pet food at tables in front of local stores for Ellie’s Pet Pantry, a local pet food bank at the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society. Families who have lost their jobs can go to Ellie’s Pet Pantry and get food for their pets. Ellie’s Pet Pantry also distributes pet food to local food banks.

Why did Johnson decide to get involved?
“I want to help keep pets in their homes with the families that love them and out of shelters,” Johnson says. “If it keeps one family pet out of a shelter, I will consider this a success.”

Jackie Roach of Omaha, Nebraska, is another one of those dedicated volunteers. She and her fellow volunteers will be collecting pet food for the Omaha Food Bank. Her goal is to collect 4,000 pounds of dog food this summer for struggling families in Omaha.

“Animal welfare is my passion,” Roach says. “I volunteer each week as an adoption counselor for the Nebraska Humane Society and I see first-hand the sad stories of people forced to surrender their pets due to economic difficulty. I pet them and see their confused faces. They don’t understand why they have been dropped off in a strange place. They wonder where their family is.”

Roach hopes the Four-Legged Food Drive will help more pets stay with their families.
“If obtaining food can help alleviate some of the burden and even one pet can stay with its family, then we’ve accomplished our goal,” Roach says.

Participating Cities

Florida, Brevard County
Florida, Jacksonville
Florida, Orlando
Nevada, Las Vegas
Nebraska, Omaha
North Carolina, Raleigh
Oregon, Portland & Eugene
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
Texas, Arlington
Utah, Salt Lake City
Washington, Longview/Kelso
Washington, Seattle

How You Can Help
Contact your local food bank to make a donation of pet food. First Home Forever Home is compiling a list of organizations that provide pet food to families in need. See our list in the Pet Food Banks folder on the resources in this community.

For More Information
The goal of Best Friends’ First Home Forever Home campaign is to help people make and honor a lifetime commitment to their pets. Millions of companion animals die every year in crowded shelters because their families decided to let them go for some reason. Through education, intervention and action, First Home Forever Home provides guidance and resources to help people care for their pets and keep them as loved members of their families. Read more about the First Home Forever Home campaign.

For more information on First Home Forever Home’s Four-Legged Food Drive and how you can help struggling pet owners in your community, e-mail Ellen Gilmore at elleng@bestfriends.org.

Main photo by Molly Wald, Best Friends photographer
In-story photos by Clay Myers, Best Friends photographer
Posted by Cheri Moon, Best Friends Network editor